In a content delivery network (CDN), an existing network is used for large scale content delivery, such as for video. The CDN operates with prefetching, dynamically caching content on distributed surrogates (e.g., caching servers) or redirecting to a third-party content server. For redirection, the CDN has an agreement with the third-party content server to provide content. In an example of redirection, a CDN redirects to a third-party server to stream videos of an event, such as a sporting event, or to play video from other content providers.
For streaming video pursuant to the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) to a client computer, a host signals desired flow characteristics to the Internet service provider (ISP) for the client computer. The ISP provides special treatment to this flow based on a token provided by the client computer and obtained by the client computer from the CDN. The token authorizes the special treatment by the ISP for the flow. Because the ISP has an agreement with the CDN, the ISP validates and honors the token, providing the desired resources for serving the content through the ISP to the client computer. The provision of the flow is from a specific server of the CDN. If the CDN redirects to a different third-party server for some content, the ISP may not provide the desired flow characteristics for the redirected content. This may result in redirection causing a reduced service by the CDN to the client computer.